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Passage

Once a thief named Kalu had planned to rob the king’s treasury. At midnight he went to the place and began to drill a hole in the side wall of the treasury, The King, who was awake in his bedroom just above the treasury, came out to investigate the whirring sound. He was dressed in a simple nightgown and the thief could not recognize him. He asked Kalu who he was and what he was doing. The latter said, “Sir, I am a thief and intend to rob this treasury. I presume that you are also a thief and have come with the same intention. No matter, let us both go inside and we shall share the loot equally”. Both entered the treasury and divided all the money and the jewels equally between them.

Inside a locker they found three big diamond pieces. As the thief was puzzled as to how to divide the three pieces into two portions, the king suggested, “We have taken away everything else. Let us leave one diamond piece for the poor king and share the rest equally”. Kalu agreed and when he took his leave, the king asked for his name and address. As Kalu had taken a vow of telling only the truth, he gave the correct information.

The king took away his share of the loot and hid it in his room. Next morning he asked his Prime Minister to inspect the treasury as he had heard some strange sounds during the previous night. The Prime Minister saw to his horror that all the valuables were missing and only a single diamond was left, perhaps inadvertently, by the thief. He put the diamond in his own shirt, pocket as its loss could be ascribed to the thief and nobody would suspect the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister went back to the King. The king particularly enquired, “Do you mean that the thief has completely denuded the treasury of its valuables and not a single item has been left? ” The Prime Minister confirmed it. The king asked the chief of police to bring in Kalu. When Kalu came he was unable to recognize the king as he is accomplice of the previous night. The king asked him, “Are you the thief who has stolen everything from my treasury leaving nothing back? ” Kalu confirmed it but said, “Sir I did leave one diamond back in the locker as advised by an accomplice of mine and it should still be there. “.

The Prime Minister interrupted saying, “Your Majesty, this thief is lying. There is nothing left in the locker”. The king asked the police chief to search the pockets of the Prime Minister, from where the missing diamond was recovered. The king told his courtiers, “Here is a Prime Minister who is a liar and a thief and here is a thief who is a truthful gentleman”.